This application generally relates to interactive multimedia distribution systems and, more particularly, to channel or bandwidth allocation in such systems.
Bandwidth is becoming a problem in the cable industry. As cable subscribers demand more and more channels, interactive services, on-demand services, and data services, the existing cable infrastructure has trouble supplying adequate bandwidth. The industry is hard at work identifying new ways of increasing bandwidth. The industry is also striving to reduce wasted bandwidth.
An “always on” set-top box is one example of wasted bandwidth. An “always on” set-top box continually receives content on a channel, even while no one is watching television. When the set-top box remains powered “on” and tuned to a channel, the set-top box is consuming bandwidth. Often times, however, that channel is not watched and bandwidth is wasted. Many cable subscribers, for example, forget to turn “off” their set-top box. Many cable subscribers remember to power “off” the television, yet the subscriber forgets to power “off” the set-top box. So, the set-top box remains powered “on” and receiving content on a channel. It's not uncommon for a set-top box to continually receive a video stream while the subscriber sleeps for hours and/or vacations for days. No one is watching the channel, yet the channel is consuming three megabits or more per second of network bandwidth to transmit the content to the set top box. This reduces the efficiency of the cable network. Because so many subscribers waste bandwidth, there is a need in the art for reducing bandwidth consumption in multimedia distribution systems.